Three Behaviors to Avoid in Meetings

By:

Jason Wong

Published Date:

May 18, 2016

Meetings are a fact of life for most professions, and accountancy is no different. Before your first “real job” though, your only exposure to a meeting-like environment is likely to be the numerous group projects you did in high school and college with people you didn’t know well. Meetings in your professional life will be with people you interact with everyday, and you’ll likely have more on the line than a grade. You may have picked up a few bad habits in high school and college – here are three behaviors from The Daily Muse you should cut out:

Zoning out. This should go without saying, but you should pay attention during a meeting. It can be difficult when it’s a long one or the speaker is boring, but if you are unable to respond to a request for your opinion, or worse, say something that someone else just said, you come off as looking foolish and disrespectful of the other people in the meeting. One way to avoid zoning out is to take notes during, and arrive prepared for the objective at hand.

Playing devil’s advocate. You want to advocate on behalf of the devil? That guy? On a more serious note, it can be tempting to point out the flaws in the ideas that are being presented. It’s okay to do so, but you shouldn’t be doing that exclusively in a meeting. Rather, try to offer an alternate idea that solves the problem.

Using your phone. Another no-brainer, right? Some workplaces might let you use your phone to take notes, but odds are, if your phone’s out, people think you’re being unprofessional and rude. Keep your phone on silent and in your pocket – or leave it at your desk if you know you’ll be unable to resist the temptation.